Walt Disney Studios

Walt Disney Studios is the film production and distribution engine of The Walt Disney Company, operating from the legendary studio lot in Burbank, California. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, it started with a contract to produce the Alice Comedies. The studio changed the game in 1937 when it released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first animated feature film, proving that cartoons could be a serious art form and a box office powerhouse.

Today, the studio houses an unmatched lineup of production labels: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight Pictures. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures handles distribution across theaters and streaming platforms like Disney+. In 2019, the studio pulled in a staggering $13.2 billion at the global box office, a record no other studio has touched. It owns eight of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time, including Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The studio's reach extends beyond films into music soundtracks, theatrical stage productions, and immersive experiences that feed into Disney's broader ecosystem of theme parks, resorts, and consumer products. It remains the largest film studio in Hollywood, one of the Big Five, and a member of the Motion Picture Association, competing directly with Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, and Sony. [edit]